Power of Persuasion
by kaida-amarante
Summary: When Squall ends up ill, it's up to Cloud to persuade him to lie down and rest. What methods will he have to use? Summary sucks...7x8, rated T for blood, slight language, and suggestive themes


**AN: Why do I have a feeling Cloud gets totally OOC in this…? Um…This isn't my best, but it's my first for Dissidia, so please go easy on me. Truth be told, I don't even remember writing this…I just found it in my documents and, well, here it is. I hope it isn't too horrible…I don't own the characters, cuz if I did, there'd be a lot of hot sex going on…yeah…enjoy. –Kaida Amarante-**

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It was the blood running from the silky brown hair and down the pale face and the tears in the teens clothing that only succeeded in showing more red-stained skin that made Cloud's eyes widen slightly and stand from where he had been sitting, walking slowly over to where the brunette stood, holding one arm tightly against his chest as he panted for breath. "Squall?" Cloud looked back to where his comrades were sitting, making sure they were all too immersed in their respective conversations too notice the two standing outside the light of the fire. "Squall, you okay?" His question was met with a flash of defiance in the teen's blue-grey eyes, a sign that Squall, even if he wasn't alright, would be putting on a brave face and making sure no one knew quite the extent of the pain he was feeling. Cloud ran his hand through the brown hair, watching Squall's face to see when the boy winced, knowing that that was where he was hurt. He saw the pain bounce subtly across the teen's face multiple times. "You need to be more careful so you won't get hurt this badly."

"Why the hell are you so talkative today?" Cloud shrugged as Squall turned his head away, sighing as he sunk to the ground beneath him.

"What happened?"

Squall stared up, his eyes narrowed. "Got attacked."

"That much is obvious."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Ultimecia attacked me again. I wasn't prepared and got a bit beat up."

Cloud hummed a bit and stared down at the brunette, studying him. "Then don't go off alone anymore." He watched as the teenager scoffed and looked away. He knew that look. The look he knew had been on his own face multiple times before. A look that told everyone 'I don't need anyone other than myself'. He sighed and sank down next to the boy, a cadence of silence resting over them comfortably, such as a child's favorite blanket, soft undertones of laughter and conversing voices reaching their ears, almost making the two long for the companionship of the others. Almost. Instead Cloud cursed himself as he realized he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and slipped slowly into sleep. He woke up a little while later and found Squall's head in his lap, face twisted in pain and paler than normal skin covered in a layer of gleaming sweat. Cloud frowned subtly and placed his hand against the teen's forehead, only to pull it away a moment later, shock replacing the frown at how high the fever was. "Dammit, Squall…" He picked the teen up, surprised at how light the boy was, and raced over to the other warriors sitting around a fire.

Zidane and Bartz were the first to notice and hopped up, racing to Cloud and asking what happened and what was wrong with Squall. Tidus and Firion followed closely behind while the other four warriors took a bit longer. Cloud turned first to the Warrior of Light and explained as softly and quickly as he could what happened, without revealing things he knew Squall would want to hide. The silver haired warrior turned to Terra and gave her instructions to take care of it. She simply nodded and motioned to Cloud to follow her, which he did without hesitation. The others stayed behind at the Warrior of Light's orders and watched in sympathy as Cloud walked off, unconsciously holding Squall closer to his chest. Terra led him to where Squall's bunk was, and he carefully set the teen down, settling into a sitting position next to the bed, despite Terra's objections. He sent her a dark glare and she went quiet, working instead on trying to bring Squall's fever down. Cloud sat in silent nervousness, studying the brunette's face. Usually he was oblivious to how young the warrior was, but in such a weakened and helpless state, it was all too apparent.

Finally there was nothing more Terra could do, so she gave Cloud a sad look and left, leaving the blonde next to the boy's bed. He leaned over and pressed his lips against the teen's forehead for a second before walking out. "Hurry and wake up, you idiot." When he walked back to where the others were sitting by the fire, he noted the worry and anxiety on each of their faces. But of course, it was only normal. Squall Leonhart, one of the most respected warriors among them, was ill. It showed to them that even in a world such as this, they were only mortal, breakable humans that were in all actuality probably some of the least invincible things on that world. That any of them could be in that exact same position, weak and vulnerable, helpless to any attacks and unable to defend themselves. It was a sobering thought to all of them.

It was three days later before Squall finally awoke, sweat still covering his body as he stumbled towards the fire, 9 pairs of wide, shocked eyes following his every move. He finally looked toward the others, his usual stoic expression on his face. "What?"

"Squall…" Terra stood and took a hesitant step forward, her hand reaching out towards the teen, but staying at a far distance, treating him as though he were an injured animal that she feared would run away if she came too close. Squall simply stared with that neutrality still etched on his face. "You were out cold for three days straight…"

At this and the slight widening of stormy eyes, Cloud stood and walked over to Squall, gripping the teen's arm tight enough that he could drag him away, but loosely enough not to hurt him. "You need to lie down, Squall." The blonde started dragging the other away, stopping when the teen protested. Cloud narrowed his mako-infused eyes at the defiant teen and muttered one word before continuing to drag him away. "Not interested." He finally made it to where Squall had been lying only minutes before and pushed the brunette down, pushing every time the kid tried to get up. Finally he let a growl escape his throat and leaned over the boy. "What will it take to make you stay down?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Cloud swore that Squall's lips almost twisted into a smirk at that.

With another growl, the blonde grabbed the teen and pushed their lips against each other, tangling one hand in silky brown hair as he tilted his head to get better access to the rosy lips he was kissing. When he pulled away, he smirked at the confused and startled expression on the teen's face. "Now be a good boy and lie down until I tell you that you can get up alright? Or I may have to do worse to you next time."

Cloud had turned and was walking away when he heard a slight chuckle behind him. "Is that really your best threat? What are you gonna do, make out with me?"

The ex-Soldier turned and stared at the smirking boy. "No. If you don't stay down, I'll rape you so hard you can't stand for days." With one last looks at the SeeD's now pale face, the blonde walked away to join the others. When he got to the fire, for a minute he ignored the questions of how he had kept the boy down before he smirked slightly. "Oh, you know, gentle consoling."

**-END-**


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